Georgia First
Dear Fellow Southerners,
As many of you already know, in 2006 I was a Republican candidate for governor here in Georgia. I ran upon a very forthright States’ Rights platform with the campaign theme of "Not Atlanta… Not Washington… but GEORGIA FIRST!" Running against an incumbent within our own party, against the Republican establishment and the downtown Atlanta media, and with only 90 days to campaign, we shocked the political landscape in Georgia by garnering approximately 50,000 votes in the primary! We polled nearly four times what the political pundits predicted we could ever reach!
During that 90 days of hard campaigning, I appeared on about 30 different radio interviews and about the same number of personal speaking appearances. In each of these, the response from the general public hearing our States’ Rights message was a resounding enthusiasm to hear someone running for office who would say what they, too, felt. Our success was not because of Ray McBerry but because our message was the right message… it was the people’s message!
About three weeks ago, I appeared on the NBC affiliate in Macon, Georgia to officially announce that I will be running again in the 2010 governor’s race. In making the announcement outside Atlanta, we completely bypassed the Atlanta media, causing them to have to pick up the story from someone else; and, in the process, we made new friends in the media outside of Atlanta who appreciated us giving them the exclusive on the announcement. We have already had positive articles run in several local papers across the state since then… and one editor who has expressed support for our candidacy.
As of the writing of this letter, there are already four other Republican candidates in the race, since there wi ll be no incumbent in this election… four "establishment" Republicans, I might add. All of them are current officeholders and all of them are part of the party politics; none of them will take a stand against either the Downtown Atlanta establishment nor the feds in Washington. I am the only candidate who is willing to take that stand… and to say it publicly.
The more "establishment" Republican candidates that enter the race the better; every one which enters the race lowers the number of votes that we must win in order to make it to the runoff election. Increasing our votes from 50,000 in 2006 (with only 90 days of campaigning) to as little as 150,000 in next year’s primary (with 15 months to campaign) should be enough to put us into the runoff election. Right now, with the candidates who are announced, it is highly unlikely that even the top vote-getter will break 25 percent of the primary votes… which means that the possibility of us getting enough votes to catapult us into the runoff is within reach. And when we make it to the runoff election, the situation completely changes… and anything becomes possible. Just making it to the runoff will give us more exposure than we have had for our message in more than 100 years!
Are you seeing the possibilities that I see? What would you give to see a States’ Rights governor in ANY Southern state? What would it do for your States’ Rights efforts in your own state? What would it do for the Cause of liberty across Dixie?
Friend, I do not presume to know the mind of God for the future; but I do believe that we have never had a better opportunity presented to us to advance the Southern Cause than we do right now. Is this not the moment for which we have been praying, working, and waiting? The possibility of a victory is within our reach, but I cannot do it alone.
Every day we are being contacted by individuals wanting to volunteer for the cam paign; and the best news is that we dont know these people! There are several hundred people from around the state who have already signed up to work in the campaign as regional coordinators, county coordinators, and local volunteers. Many in the former Ron Paul campaign are actively recruiting for us now; and we are getting invitations from conservative Republican organisations around the state to "please" come speak to them… something that never happened in 2006. The entire mood has shifted in our direction!
When I spoke at the Atlanta Tea Party tax rally at the state capitol this past weekend, we had possibly the most cheering for my short speech of any speaker of the day from the several hundred people present.
I am asking for you to stop what you are doing right now and make a financial contribution to the campaign. I know that things are not easy on anyone financially right now, myself included; but it will take money to reach the people of Georgia with our message. I believe that our message has the ability to win their hearts and minds… BUT ONLY IF THEY HEAR IT. We need 1,000 people to give $100 each. Some can give more and should consider doing so. But would you stop what you’re doing right now and make a contribution of $100? You can do it through a personal check, online using a credit card or Paypal, or by just picking up the phone and calling in to make a credit card contribution right over the phone. We need a minimum of 1,000 people to sign on with $100 each immediately.
I have never asked anyone for money before, and I can only hope that you will not be offended now… but I am not asking for money for me personally. We can — and are willing to — do all of the hard work necessary for the campaign… but we can NOT do it without the money needed. Please, give something, even if it is less than $100!
In 2006, we reached 50,000 voters with a short-term budget of only $25,000… we wi ll use your contributions wisely and have proven it once already. We need to immediately purchase campaign literature, as well as some other tools which we will be detailing to you soon. Please take the time to make a contribution right now, before it slips your mind.
Contribute online at www.GeorgiaFirst.org… OR by phone at 706.374.4509… OR by mail at…
Georgia First
P.O. Box 1263
McDonough, Ga 30253
And PLEASE forward this message to any and every list of like-minded Southerners possible… IMMEDIATELY.
For our Southern Cause,
Ray McBerry,
Republican Candidate for Governor of Georgia 2010
www.GeorgiaFirst.org
